The Morning Aftermath: Arizona Cardinals

It feels good to be 2-1 in the division doesn’t it? It feels even better to be in 1st place in the NFC West just like old times. This game was far from pretty and once again the Seahawks have proven themselves incapable of emphatically putting teams away when they are on the ropes, a trend I’ve noticed since 2006. Anyone remember when the Denver Broncos (more on them later) turned it over on consecutive possessions and only mustered field goals to make a 14-13 lead, 20-13? Yeah I’d say it probably started around there.

Anyways, we won, Arizona lost, and all is right in the world. So for the first time ever the Cardinals fear the wrath of The Aftermath.

“buh bye Andre!”
“What the hell is Roberts doing touching the ball inside the 10?! Of course TD Seahawks. Thanks Hall. Thanks Hightower. Thanks Roberts. Turning the ball over 3 times before half-time is unexcusable.”
“Roberts very well may be the worse draft pick EVER. The guy can’t return punts and he brings NOTHING to the offense.”
“This team sucks on ice. Just forfeit. You’re handing them the game anyway so just forfeit.”
“Yea, like it’s the first time. HE has no clue.
IF Whiz doesn’t deactivate him next week, discipline means nothing to him other than an interesting catch phrase.”
– Comments taken from Arizona Cardinals forum. Some of the spelling there is simply unexcusable and inacceptable.

“I want out of this nighmare.”
“good thing we released Leinart”
“Max Hall SUCKS!!!!!! He needs to open them beedy eyes and get rid of the **** ball!!!”
“can we change the entire o-line? they can’t block ****..”
“Hoonestly right now a smart Seattle gameplan would be run Lynch 1st through 3rd downs and the punt from Ryan, pinning AZ at around their 20. Lets them stumble and bumble to a 3 and out, or maybe gain another turnover.

“Seattle needs to do nothing right now, but wait for the Cards to implode.”
“Our D should give up. If the offense and ST’s are going to continue to give the ball to the Hawks in our redzone….”
“Olindo Mare is the best player on the field today.”
“I haven’t seen the Cardinals play this pathetic since I was just a little kid watching them at Sun Devil Stadium. Truly a horrific day for the Cardinals.” Comments from Football’s Future and the Arizona Cardinals Forum.

In-Game: BMW > DRC

“And DRC continues to get abused by Mike Williams as the clock ticks down….”
“3 offisdes penalties, costing us points and consistent abuse from Mike Williams.”
“DRC stands for Dumb Right Corner”
“DRC was smoked by Williams again”
“DRC is playing like a girl”

I wish the Cardinals had a larger fanbase because it’s not as fun searching for gems when the pickings are slim. Still reading all the Max Hall and DRC hate was worth the searching. Comment time is over so let’s head onwards to post-game reaction.

Post-Game: Sputtering Offense Dooms Cards

First and foremost, this game was lost because both Quarterbacks struggled, and the Cardinals kept turning the ball over. Before leaving the game with a concussion early in the 3rd Quarter, Undrafted Rookie Max Hall was 4 of 16 for 36 yards, and he also threw a horrible Interception where he overthrew his receiver by 10 or 15 yards. It also looked like he was struggling with the rain, and bad weather is tough on any Quarterback. Following Hall’s concussion, Derek Anderson went in and he provided a spark going 4 for 4 with 67 yards once he went in, but shortly after that he reminded us why he was benched for Hall finishing the game 8 of 17 for 96 yards, and he missed several targets showing why some of us called him “Errant Anderson”.

You cannot win a game if your Quarterbacks combine for 12 of 33 for 114 yards and a pick in a game. Those are horrible numbers, and the lack of a passing game is what killed this team. The Defense played well enough to keep the Cardinals in the game until the 4th Quarter when it looked like they were too worn out to keep up with the Seahawks while they were going on long clock chewing drives and scoring points. Even mediocre play by Hall or Anderson could have been enough to win this game, but they both just seemed off target for the entire game.

Post-Game: Our Own Worst Enemy

First of all, starter Max Hall looked every bit a rookie today. It had nothing to do with the noise. He didn’t have any false starts. The weather played a part, but that was more an issue for Andre Roberts who muffed a punt and played his part as a rookie when Seattle recovered it and eventually scored a touchdown.

Hall once again was let down by his offensive line at times. Offensive lineman Brandon Keith lets pass rushers right by like they have a golden ticket to the chocolate factory, except there is no Willy Wonka at the end of the candy trail, just a rookie quarterback who, to the defender, looks like that piece of candy on top of a lollipop stick.

However there were times Hall did have time to throw and just looked bad. At times he held the ball too long. At times not long enough. He looked like every bit a rookie. Those are growing pains you have to go through with a new quarterback though. Backup Derek Anderson cam into the game in the third quarter and did an ok job after Hall took a clean shot on one of those free passes the offensive line was giving out and had to leave the game for good.

It was the mistakes though, the ones that were created by nothing more than a lack of focus, that did in the Cards. Take nothing away from the Seahawks because they took advantage of the mistakes by putting points on the board. However, fumbles again did the Cards in. Tim Hightower’s fumble on a drive that started deep in their own territory in the second quarter, was demoralizing. Roberts fumble was very costly. Hall turned the ball over on the play that knocked him out.

I wish the Seahawks would stop playing teams that beat themselves. Are we up to 4 now? If not for San Francisco’s early turnovers and red zone impotence they would’ve murdered us. If not for Leon Washington and a fumblefest the Chargers would’ve gotten a big win. If not for Mike Martz we would’ve lost in Chicago. Now if not for 5 turnovers by Arizona + Competent QB….darn, the Seahawks should be 0-6.

Post-Game Video: Something Different

Now normally I conclude the content with a video, but the one video I found was freaking vile and it was basically a Cardinals fan swearing for 3 minutes in front of a camera without conjuring up coherent thought. Oh, he did drink hot sauce for the other 4 minutes so if you still want to see it click here (Warning: Lots of cursing).

I don’t want to just drop the video section for the week and I still have a hatred for the Denver Broncos. So you know what that means….

I chose this video because the man is well-spoken and honestly I would rather post these types of clips than hothead drunkards with a webcam going loose on the team they love. You have to think with the way their defense got carved up that maybe they could’ve used a FS to at least ease some of the pain. Maybe they needed Earl Thomas…..

As for Oakland they have likely used up its point allotment for the season so hopefully they’ll be shutout this weekend.

Okay that’s it for this week’s TMA and I hope you enjoyed wallowing in the loser’s misery.